savages
by Rhiannon A. Christy
Summary: Darcy wanted to know what she was, how she had been capable of doing what she had. She had no knowledge of who or what she was, of her birthright; but Bucky would change all that. : Dark!Darcy Dark!Bucky
1. Chapter 1

Savages

* * *

Darcy fell to her knees, her throat sore as she dry heaved. She leaned forward until she could rest her forehead against the pavement. The sick plop-plop of blood hitting ground could be heard behind her, each drop burrowed its way into her brain and she knew she would never be able to forget the sound.

She held her hands just above the ground, letting them hover near her ears. She couldn't imagine touching anyone or anything with them ever again. She could feel the wet stickiness slithering between her fingers, running down her wrists to drip down to the pavement in a crimson puddle.

Hands, one blistering hot and the other a harsh cold, ran slowly up her back and into her hair. The fingers ran along her scalp as though to calm her. But she wondered how anyone could bear to touch her, she was tainted now. The hands ran back down to her shoulders, along her arms, until they made their way to her hands; fingers tangling with hers.

"Breathe…" Darcy shivered at the single word whispered against her ear. It was the same voice she had heard a dozen times over, in both the waking and dreaming world. It was the same voice she had longed would whisper sweetly against her heated flesh, that she longed to hear moan her name. "Breathe now… just breathe."

She took in a deep breath, but gagged when the taste of copper swept over her tongue. Those hands, those arms around her quickly lifted her up and plastered her against a hard chest. She fought against him, but she didn't have much fight left and just fell back into him.

"There now, it is all over." One of the hands, the one hot like fire, slid up from her waist to cup her cheek. Darcy wanted to protest as blood was smeared over her face, but all thought was driven from her when the hand turned her face so a pair of lips could press firmly down on hers.

Little by little the man parted her mouth, slipping into her. That moan she had dreamed of so many times vibrated through his chest. She clung to him, visions of red still behind her eyes. She couldn't understand what had happened, why she had done it. Slowly, she pulled back from his lips and stared straight into Bucky's eyes.

"Why? What have I done?" She tried not to look behind Bucky, there she knew the other man laid; ripped to shreds.

"He hurt you so you hurt him, it is as simple as that." Bucky slid his hand into her hair, using it to pull her closer to him. It had been glorious watching her. She had no clue yet what she was, she had no understanding of her birthright, but he would help her, he would show her.

"I killed a man, I tore him apart like an animal. What the fuck am I?" She pleaded with the man holding her, her heart beating harshly against her chest. The man had tried to hurt her, he had tried… she had been overcome with such anger, with so much bloodlust that she could taste it. She had wanted the man dead, she had wanted to do it with her own hands and bathe in his blood. And that is just what she had done.

"You are glorious." Bucky surged forward and once again pressed his lips to hers. She had been driving him to distraction since he had met her, but Steve had warned him to stay away. She was fragile, she had no idea what she was. He knew now Steve had been wrong, she was anything but fragile.

Oh, she was new and untrained, having been taken away as a child. But she was strong, just like her true family. He would train her and she would one day claim her birthright, and he would be there by her side. The world would once again know the glory of their people, and bow to their glorious queen. He would make sure of it.

* * *

Author's Note: I have no fucking clue what I just wrote. I really don't. Um, so I'm thinking that maybe Darcy, Bucky, and Steve are actually werewolves, or something along that line, and Darcy is actually heir to their throne, but had been stolen away when she had been a child and raised as a human. And now that Bucky has helped her unleash her true self he plans to train her and help her gain back the throne by a rival pack and he would be by her side as her mate….hmmm, look at that, there might be a story in this.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media

franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


	2. Chapter 2

A WORD OF WARNING! THIS IS CHAPTER ONE AND TWO, BUT IN IT'S RAW AND UNFINISHED FORM.

I have decided that I am not going to write this story, but I had these two chapters just sitting on my comp and thought I would share. if there is anyone who would like to pick up this story go ahead. And if you let me know I can send you what notes I do have for this story if you wish.

Even though this is unfinished I hope you enjoy, I would have liked to finish this, but my muse for it died.

* * *

Chapter One:

Darcy sat on the floor of the lab, her back leaning against the wall as she bobbed her head slowly. She hummed quietly to Bowie as his distinct voice filtered through the buds in her ears. Life had been pretty boring lately, at least on their end, she had heard about some pretty crazy shit going down elsewhere. For once Darcy was thankful she had stuck by Jane all those years, she really didn't want to think about being caught in that robot shit-storm.

Darcy mouthed the words to 'Five Years' while tapping out the rhythm with her fingers on the floor. They were currently back in Tromso, this time having a valid reason to be there besides Shield wanting to tuck them safely away. Not that Shield even existed anymore, the damn jackbooted thugs turned out to actually be evil neo-Nazi jackbooted thugs. Who would have thunk it?

"Darcy!"

A kick to her foot brought Darcy to the present, and her eyes shot open to glare at the woman standing above her. Jane stood with her hands on her hips, a scowl firmly on her lips. It was a sure sign that the scientist had been trying to get her attention for some time. Deciding she should probably pay attention and do her job, she pulled the plugs from her ears and the mellow sound of Bowie with them.

"What? You know how I feel about interrupting my Bowie time."

"We are supposed to be working, not brushing up on classic rock."

"I am working, cause I mean I'm pretty sure that Bowie is actually Ziggy and he just created the whole Bowie persona when he got stuck on Earth."

"Sometimes I feel like you think you live in a movie and not the real world."

"Jane-baby, you are dating a Space-God Prince that fell out of the sky, had once been possessed by a freaky red something, and we defeated a giant fire-breathing robot and dark space elves. The men in black are real, admittedly they turned out to be evil, but that is neither here nor there. And now we are in the middle of ice hell while you work on creating your very own rainbow bridge so you can bump uglies with said space-god prince, all the while a group of super-powered superheroes run around saving people. I'm not actually sure what you think the real world is."

"I really wish I could refute all that. I really do."

"No you don't."

"Fine, I don't. But I could do without all the running for our lives." … "And Bowie is not an alien."

"I respectfully disagree. He can't possibly be human, not with that much inhuman beauty."

"Oh my god! What is he? In his sixties… seventies?!"

"Jane-baby, Bowie will forever be sexy."

"Why are we even talking about this?"

"Because you are easily distracted, and secretly want to get back to our rooms and watch 'The Man Who Fell to Earth'?"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's because you are insane and have a strange fetish for men way, way too old for you."

"Ah, if only I had been born sooner. Damn, I would've been on that like white on rice."

"Gross, whatever, we have work to do."

"You actually get some new readings?"

"No, but I did get this." (jane hands over a printed email from Erik.)

"Fuck me!" … "Is this real?"

"Do you really think Erik would pull a joke like that?"

"Hey, the dude went way out to space after Loki did his mind-voodoo on him. I love that pantless weirdo, but I wouldn't put anything past him. You do remember what he did before we left London right?"

"I bought you six new pairs of jeans, I don't know why you won't let that go."

"Because he used my jeans to fuel a bonfire. Who even does that?!"

"Darcy, could we please focus?"

"Yeah, yeah sure. I'm just, well, you know what this means right?"

"No, I don't, I don't have one clue what working for the Avengers will mean. I walk around in a haze my whole life and I completely overlooked this."

"No need to be so snippy, God!" … "So, when do we leave?"

Abab

Steve leaned his arms against the railing above the training room. His eyes took in everything below him with a clarity that had little to do with the super-soldier serum. All the history books talked about how Steve Rogers had been a weakling, sick and dying as he lived. Not one of them knew that beneath that frail body sat the heart of a creature much stronger than any human. Oh he had been sick, there was no doubt about that, but he had been nowhere as frail as people believed him to be.

He had been born a runt, small and sickly. There had once been a time when his kind would've been killed upon birth, put out of their misery before their weak genes could contaminate the clan. He had been reminded of that fact most of his life, other pups and the older adults resented his existence. Clan Cuan were a proud clan, warriors and protectors, having a runt amongst them was a disgrace. He let out a low, humorless laugh; what great warriors his clan turned out to be.

"You know, I've realized that I haven't seen you smile in over seventy years."

"I could say them same to you."

"Not much to smile about, is there?"

"We're alive, so there's that."

"But at what cost? Exiled and forced to hide among the humans?" … "Back when I volunteered for this, this wasn't what I had planned."

"Neither of us did." … "I used to have dreams of returning home; I would be seen as a great warrior and make my way up through the ranks. It is funny how insignificant all that is now."

"Do you ever wonder about what would've happened if we had never been lost?"

"You mean if we could've prevented the war, stopped the Lycus?" … "I've thought about it, but we would've been old men by then. What good would toothless wolves be against the young?"

"Sometimes I just wonder what it has all been for. I did everything to find a place amongst our clan, and in the end we are all that is left."

"Maybe it's been for nothing at all. Maybe we suffered and there is no reward waiting for us at the end of it all. What does it really matter now? We have each other, and we have this team."

"You sound more like Bucky than ever."

"Day by day, punk. Hydra knew what they were doing, exactly what they were doing." It was something that frightened him, just how knowledgeable those humans had been. They shouldn't have been able to suppress the alpha in him like they had. Humans knew nothing of the Faoladh beyond old myths, so who had given them the information?

"Uh, Steve… um, James." (Erik comes and nods to each of them men, standing a ways behind them in nothing but his button down and briefs.)

"Erik, is everything alright?" (steve looks down briefly at erik's lack of pants, knowing that while the man had been getting better day by day that he still had set backs when stressed.)

"Yes… no… I mean everything is fine, it is just." … "A month ago you approved my request for Dr. Foster and her assistant to come work here…"

"I remember, you said she accepted didn't you?"

"Oh! Yes, she did, almost immediately after I sent her the offer."

"Alright, then what is the problem?"

"Well, they are here; arrived about a half-hour ago. But the thing is they are downstairs, security won't let them through… even when I went down. I was hoping you could help, because I'm afraid that Darcy might actually try to tase the guard."

"I thought you said these women weren't dangerous?" (bucky)

"No, I said they weren't a danger to the Avengers. There is a reason Thor is so attracted to Jane, and Darcy… well you should ask Thor." (erik)

"And yet she still carries a taser?" (bucky)

"I would have her carry a gun if I could get her to agree." (erik)

"Alright, enough." … "Don't worry about it, Erik. Go back to your lab and… James… and I will take care of it." (steve)

"Thank you." … "And um, I apologize in advance for anything those two say. They kind of have a short fuse." (erik)

(erik leaves and bucky turns to steve)

"Oh, well they sound lovely."

"Shut up, Jerk. I'm sure we can handle a couple of scientists."

Abab

Darcy was very close to tasing the jackbooted thug in front of her, tasing him right in the balls. The man looked so smug when he refused to let them in the compound; said he had never gotten notice of any new arrivals. She was pretty sure what it really amounted to was the douche-nozzle hadn't paid any attention to his job. She was going to get so much satisfaction seeing the piece of shit-on-a-stick reamed over for denying Thor's girlfriend entrance.

"Now listen here, I'm Dr. Jane Foster and I've come a long way for this job. I've got proof that I'm telling the truth, I have printed emails with Dr. Selvig-" (jane)

"I wouldn't trust anything that man said, he deserves to be in the looney-bin." (ass guard)

"Hey! You have no right to even speak his name, you used catheter!" (darcy) (jane looks over at Darcy and her use of the strange insult, darcy just shrugs her shoulder, it was either that or enema tube, which she would have to remember to use later.)

"It doesn't matter what you call me, you are not getting in these doors. Now, if you don't leave I'll be forced to make you leave." (ass guard)

"What appears to be the problem here, Agent Ryan?" (steve)

"Sir!" … "I was just explaining to these women that they don't have clearance to enter the compound, and should be on their way." (ass guard ryan)

(steve looked the women over, he recognized Dr. Foster from pictures that Thor had shared with him. His gaze stopped on the other woman, his heart beating out of his chest. He had never seen her before, but when he took in a huge gulp of air he could smell her and the familiar scent of alpha female; she was not human.)

"Agent Ryan, would you hand me the clipboard beside you?" (steve didn't remove his gaze from the shorter woman the whole time, he couldn't. He took the clipboard once ryan handed it to him and removed his gaze just so he could look down and read through the list.)

"May I ask, Agent, if you have checked both these women's IDs?" (steve)

"Of course, Sir." (ass guard ryan)

"Then tell me why Dr. Selvig felt the need to interrupt me during training to come down here?" (steve)

"Uh…" (ass guard ryan)

(steve turned back towards Dr. Foster and the other woman, gave them a smile.)

"Dr. Foster, Ms. Lewis, I am sorry for the inconvenience. Please come in." (steve)

"Thank you, um, Captain Rogers." (jane)

(Darcy just stares at steve, her heart hammering. She felt a tingling all over her body. It wasn't attraction, at least not like she had ever experienced it, but it was something.)

"Uh, Sir?" (ass guard ryan)

"Agent, I suggest in the future you actually do your job and read over your paperwork. Had you done so today you would have noticed the names of both our guests typed clearly on both the arrivals and the clearance pages." (steve) (steve handed back the clipboard, making a mental note to talk to Nat about replacing the incompetent agent. That was the problem, he had found, so many of the young agents felt a since of smug pride at being brought on to the Avengers project.) (Steve turns back towards the woman and makes a sweeping motion with his hands.)

"This way ladies." (steve)

Abab

 _Bucky flipped the dagger in his hand, his eyes watching the light sparkle off the intricate pommel. It was one of the only things he still owned from his life before the Soldier, and the last item of the great Clan Cuan to survive the storm of the Lycus. His eyes followed the silver wolf's head as it turn over and over in the air, his mind on the day his father had presented him with the gift…_

 _The light from the bonfire glowed brightly through the clearing, illuminating the laughing figures of the Barnes family. Bucky stood a ways off, his heart practically pounding out of his chest. He had turned sixteen just days before, the age when the Faoladh were considered an adult. Unlike his father, he had had to wait for that month's full moon before he could go through the Rites and become a full fledged member of their clan._

 _He stood now among his family, both blood and chosen, ready to pledge his loyalty to the Throne of Conri and Clan Faolan. He wanted to run, he wanted to scream, and he wanted to fall at the foot of the fire and shout his loyalty. It was an interesting mix of emotions, which made him feel as though he would be sick right there in front of everyone._

 _"Calm down, Jerk, I could smell you a mile off." (steve)_

 _"Hey, wait until it is your turn and see how calm you are." (bucky)_

 _"I doubt I'll be allowed to go through the Burning. What use do the Faolan have for a runt?" (steve)_

 _"A lot, I would suppose. They were the ones to stop the runt kills." … "Plus, I was allowed to chose you as my Pack Brother, they never would have allowed that bond if you were going to be denied the Burning." (bucky)_

 _"You really didn't give them much choice about your Pack Brother." (steve)_

 _"No, and I won't give them a choice about your Burning either." … "In two years we will be right back here for your fire." (bucky)_

 _"If you say so, Buck." … "Hey, if you're calmed down enough your father sent me to get you; it's time." (steve)_

 _Bucky swallowed, the feeling thick down his throat. He had been to his cousin's Burning when he had been young, and he could still remember the older boy's screams as the fire licked at his arm. It was an honor to pledge your loyalty to the Faolan in flame, but he thought only a fool wouldn't be scared._

 _He moved slowly to the center of the clearing, his eyes remaining on the fire. The only thing that kept him from turning back was the comforting presence of Steve beside him. The younger boy slipped his hand into his and gave it a tight squeeze before letting go once they reached the fire._

 _The Faoladh had changed with the times, keeping up with the humans as they grew. But some things would forever be steeped in the ancient traditions of their people; the Burning was one of those._

 _For centuries Clan Cuan had served the Throne of Conri and those who ruled from it, the Clan Faolan. They were the Protectors, those who risked life and limb, they were the warriors. And on that night Bucky would pledge his life to protect his King._

 _As tradition dictated, Bucky wore only a pair of breeches, his feet and chest bare. He knelt on the ground before his father, his left to the fire, his right to the darkness. He could feel the heat of Steve as the smaller boy knelt behind him._

 _Steve worked quickly, binding a length of rope around Bucky's right wrist and pulling it back until he could secure his arm tightly against him. Bucky kept his face blank as he was bound until only his left arm remained free. He tried not to think about it, his eyes focused forward on his father as Steve slid his hands down his right arm, lifting and turning until the soft underside was presented._

 _Bucky's father knelt in front of him, his own chest bare of clothing. From his side he pulled a glittering dagger; the blade decorated with softly curling leaves and flowers, the pommel a silver wolf's head. His father grasped his right wrist, holding tightly as he pressed the tip of the dagger into his flesh. Bucky gritted his teeth as his arm was carved into, the symbol of protection standing out in deep scarlet against his pale arm._

 _Once his father removed the dagger from his flesh, he felt as Steve grasped his arm and trust it into the fire. He bit his tongue to keep from screaming as the flames licked along his freshly carved skin. He could hear the sizzle of his blood, feel the blisters form along the wound. It felt like an eternity that he was forced to endure the consuming tongue of fire, even though it had only been seconds before Steve had pulled his arm back to his side._

 _Sweat dappled and ran along his temples, his heart beat wildly behind his ribs. A cold shock pressed against his burned arm as Steve carefully washed his newly marked skin. He tried to focus on that, the cool water as it ran over the fever in his arm. The soft, caring touch of his best friend. The quiet, if hitched, breathing of the boy behind him._

 _After a few minutes he felt his bonds loosen; Steve moving to sit in front of him where his father had once been. The Rites would not be finished until he chose his Pack Brother; the man he would forever be bound to, his brother in arms and in fire. He had watched his cousin preform the rite, searing in his bond to the boy he called his best friend. But Bucky hesitated when his father handed him the knife. The fire had burned hotter than he could have imagined, and he could not bring himself to cause such pain to the boy he called brother. It was Steve, his small hand pressing the dagger hilt into his own, that urged him to continue._

 _Bucky held the blade over the flames, turning the gleaming silver black. Once he could feel the heat rise up along the hilt, he pulled back and pressed the side of the blade over Steve's heart. The smaller boy clenched his teeth, an agonizing scream squeezing out as the hot metal sizzled against his flesh. When Bucky pulled away, he could see the red welt raised along Steve's chest. A welt that would eventually scar into the shape of his dagger._

 _Though he felt tears at the corner of his eyes from causing pain for his brother, he felt elated. The bond between them had been half completed, in two years when he assisted Steve in his own Burning, Bucky would gain his own scar to match. It was a symbol to their clan that though the blood that ran through them was not the same, they were still brothers in heart. That mark stood as a physical symbol of something they already knew: nothing, not even time or death could ever keep them apart._

 _The clatter of the dagger against the floor drew Bucky back to the present and away from that night long ago. He sighed, picked up the dagger and slipped it back into the sheath._

 _Sometimes Bucky wished to be back to that night, back to the innocence of youth. And other times… other times he wished he had been born human; ignorant of the dangers that lurked in the darkness._

 _He looked down at his left arm, the metal gleaming brightly in the false light of the room. He no longer bore any of his marks, the symbol once burned into his arm lost when his arm had been ripped from his body, and his Pack Brother scar erased by the bastardized serum he had been pumped with in Italy. Both him and Steve only had the memory of their oaths, but he figured that would have to be enough. It wasn't like he had anyone to protect anymore, the Lycus had killed every last Cuan and Faolan. Him and Steve were all that remained._

Chapter Two:

Steve stayed at Ms. Lewis' side as he directed them to the lab where they would be working. His nose tickled each time he took a breath, the woman's scent was about to drive him insane. He knew that scent, though he hadn't smelled it in over seventy years. It was comforting as much as it was maddening.

"Your lab will be next to Dr. Selvig's, though as your work does require access to the sky a sectioned off area of the roof has been set aside for your use." (steve)

"Thank you, Captain Rogers. Not just for your help with the guard, but allowing us a space here." (jane) (she had put on her big girl voice which makes it hard for darcy not to snort at the absurdity of it.)

"No need to thank me, Ma'am, you should've been offered a lab awhile ago." (steve)

Darcy watched the man beside her from the corner of her eye. He made the hairs on the back of her neck rise, but it wasn't danger that she was sensing. There was something very comforting about him, something that she could just wrap around herself and be content. She had never felt that way before; content. All her life she had always felt on edge, as though her world was somehow tilted the wrong way and she was always close to falling.

"So, um… Agent Hill has made sure that everything is in order for you, that includes an apartment off base. Fully furnished I'm told. I will make sure there is someone to take you there once you get acquainted here." (steve)

"Thank you, you guys didn't actually have to go that far." (jane)

"All part and parcel, Ma'am." …(steve is nervous, wishes ms. Lewis would say something, anything)… "Here you go, your lab. Right now there are no security measures in place, but you can set those yourself before you leave tonight." (steve)

"Which I'll help you with." … "Jane! Darcy!" (erik) (erik runs up to the two and gives them both huge hugs. Jane laughs brightly, Darcy gives a nervous laugh, and steve has to keep himself from freaking out and tearing erik off of her at her obvious discomfort.)

"Hey, Dr. Pantless, I thought we learned to deal with bottoms?" (darcy) (darcy motions down to erik's briefs, though her eyes are focused on his face as she really didn't want to see what was going on down there.)

"Oh! I forgot them again, sorry. I'll tell you what, you two go ahead and take a look around your lab and I'll pop over to mine and cover up." (erik)

"That would probably be the best, yes." (darcy)

(erik turns around and hurries off to his lab to grab a pair of pants. Jane ignores everything and goes into her lab to look around, leaving darcy and steve to stand awkwardly in the hall.)

"Ok then, so thanks for the help and the escort, Captain. I think we have everything in hand now." (darcy)

"Uh, yeah. Of course." (steve) (steve turns to go, but turns back around quickly and looks her right in the eyes.)

"Do I have something on my face?" (darcy)

"No, no sorry. I just wanted to say that… well if you need anything, anything at all send for me." (steve)

"Send for you? Am I supposed to get a random agent to fetch you or something?" (darcy)

"Uh, no." … "Just… here, this is my number. If you need anything, night or day you just call me." (steve) (steve writes number down and hands to darcy)

"Alright, but you are probably making a huge mistake. Because really, having Captain America at my beck and call is not something I'm going to pass up. You might find you regret giving me your number when I call you at three in the morning to go buy me ice-cream." (darcy)

"I doubt I will." (steve) (steve gives a smile, and reluctantly pulls himself away before he starts getting too mother hen on her.)

Darcy stood in the middle of the hallway watching as the Captain disappeared around the corner. That whole thing had been weird, and she was sure she should've been completely freaked out at his behavior. Instead she couldn't help the huge grin that spread across her face, and the longing to have him close to her again. She figured she really needed to sleep, damn jetlag.

Abab

Steve leaned against the wall outside the rooms he shared with Bucky. His heart was racing, his stomach rolling, and his senses were going haywire. There was no doubt left in his mind what Ms. Lewis was. But it was impossible, it had to be.

"What're you doing out here? I could hear your heart all the way into the back room." (bucky) (taking in a deep breath, bucky stops short, grabs a hold of steve's short and pulls him inside before taking a deep breath in of his friend.)

"Um, I know you are lonely, but I'm just not that in to you." (steve) (bucky straightened up, rolled his eyes, and gave a hollow laugh.)

"Funny, punk, real funny." …(takes another big sniff at steve)… "What the hell is that smell, if I didn't know better I'd think-"

"Faolan?"

"Yeah, but how?"

"That's what I want to know."

"Ok, hold up. Start from the beginning here."

"Dr. Foster and her assistant arrived, I just got back from taking them to their lab."

"Wait, Dr. Foster is…"

"No, her assistant, Ms. Darcy Lewis."

"But… how did she react, I mean a Faolan…"

"That's the thing, she didn't. She smiled and stayed pretty close to me, but other than that, nothing. And then…" … "…then she seemed confused when I told her to send for me if she needed anything; thought I meant for her to send someone after me."

"She could be lying low, like we are. If she really is Faolan than, shit…"

"I know, fuck! I wish I would have known before allowing Hill to house them off base."

"Hold on, you could be mistaken. It's been years since we've scented a Faolan, it could just be wishful thinking. The Lycus did slaughter the entire clan after all."

"Yeah, but they also killed all the Cuan, but here we are."

"Fuck."

"Yeah."

Abab

The rest of the day Darcy spent following Jane around as she made giggly school-girl noises at all of her new toys. It turned out that being granted a lab in the Avengers training facility meant more than just space. They had packed up all of Jane's equipment, duct-tape and all, but Darcy foresaw much of it ending up in the trash after seeing their new workspace.

Jane was currently gushing over the rooftop lab, complete with fancy observation chairs, so Darcy didn't feel too bad about not paying attention to her friend and boss. Her mind instead was back inside with one very well built Captain. It wasn't really that her mind had gone to the gutter, though she would be lying if she said she hadn't had a thought or two about applying her tongue to certain places. No, her mind was mostly focused on the feeling she had coursing through her since she had met the man.

"Earth to Darcy!"

"Shit Jane, no need to yell in my ear."

"Well, apparently I do as I've been trying to get your attention for ten minutes." … "Are you ok, you look kind of peaky?"

"Long flight, I'm really just tired. Not all of us can be sustained on SCIENCE! All the time."

"I really wish you would stop saying it like that."

"No, I Shan't!" … "Jane-baby, nothing about what you do is ordinary. You don't do science, you do SCIENCE!" (darcy did jazz hands as she said this)

"I'm not really sure what the difference is here besides that little dance you do."

"Simple science is all papers and numbers, but SCIENCE! Is running over space-god princes and kicking alien elf ass… while doing papers and numbers. Big difference, Jane-baby."

"Whatever you say, Darcy-Lou."

"I should throw you over the roof for that."

"What, Darcy Louisette is a pretty name."

"I don't even know what my parents were thinking when they named me."

"Speaking of parents, have you called them to let them know you're back in the states?"

"No, at the moment I'm trying to figure out how to say that I'm working for the Avengers in a top secret base without actually telling them anything." … "No one ever said it would be this complicated."

"I think 'Top Secret Base' pretty much implies 'complicated.'"

"Yeah well, you don't have to worry about what you can and can't say. Shit, I can't even tell them what I do. Hard telling what they think."

"I thought your cover was some sort of political PA."

"Yeah, but I think they suspect I'm lying."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because the last Christmas I was home they just kept asking questions. And I don't mean stuff like how was the weather in London, more like: 'So, remind me again what party your "Politian" supports.' And seriously, you could hear the quotation marks."

"Well, this will be the last move. Maybe that will help calm things down."

"I doubt it, things have been… strained lately." … "Has been since I left for college, actually."

"There is always some adjusting to do when parents realize their child is grown."

"You don't know my parents, they are very… old fashioned. Growing up I wasn't allowed to have a lot of friends. I could go over for sleepovers, school fieldtrips were a hassle because my Dad had to come on everyone. They didn't want me to go to college in the first place, at least not so far away."

"I didn't realize they were so overprotective."

"Overprotective doesn't even begin to cover it. Why do you think I've never invited you home? I didn't want you to get the third degree. My Dad and brother would've picked apart every little thing to make sure you were safe for me to hang out with."

"Wow, must have been hell growing up."

"You have no idea. Jason, my brother, says it's just because they had wanted a daughter for so long that they are more protective of me than they are of him."

"You don't think so?"

"I don't know what I think. I mean, if that was the case, then why does Jason treat me the same way?"

"Who ever knows anything about families?" … "Come on, I think the flight is starting to catch up with me. Let's go find someone that can direct us to our apartment."

Abab

It took a good half hour before either Steve or Bucky could pull themselves together enough to leave their rooms. Just knowing that one of the Faolan was in the complex was enough to excite their senses. Everything in them wanted nothing more than to run to her and make sure she was safe. It was distracting.

"Hey, man, everything ok? You're practically vibrating." (sam)

"Huh?" … "Uh, yeah, I'm fine." (steve)

"Really? Cause I've got to tell ya, you don't look fine." (sam)

"I'm fine!" … "Sorry, my mind is just preoccupied at the moment." (steve)

"Right." (sam) (sam rolls his eyes. He hadn't seen steve so wired since they were on the hunt for bucky.)

(Rhodey enters room, looking behind him every so often with a strange look on his face.)

"Any of you know what Barnes' deal is? He's got his 'murder face' on." (rhodey)

"Oh man, did you two get into a fight?" (sam)

"No, we are just working on a project right now." (steve)

"Does that project happen to include Barnes and Nat killing each other? Cause I'm pretty sure that's what is about to happen." (rhodey)

"Shit!" (steve) (steve rushes past the two men and straight for where he had left Bucky in the training room.)

(when steve enters the room it is to find his two friends circling each other. It would've been amusing to notice how Nat matched Bucky's natural grace, mimicking the wolf in bucky perfectly. If steve hadn't known better, he would've thought Nat was Faoladh. As it was he did know better, and knew he had to stop it before Nat was hurt. She might be good, but without the alpha being suppressed bucky could easily rip the woman apart, something he was about to do.)

(steve rushes forward, moving himself between the two, his eyes focused on bucky's.)

"Buck, come on now. You need to calm down." (steve)

"Get out of the way, Steve." (bucky)

"You really don't want to do this." (steve)

"I don't need you protecting me, Steve. I can handle myself." (nat)

(steve really wanted to turn around and shake some sense into the woman, she had never gone up against an alpha in full control of himself. Even more so one that was wound tightly and in protect mode. If he didn't calm bucky down, his friend would tear the woman limb from limb… literally.)

"I don't want either of you handling yourselves. What I want is this to stop before a mess has to be cleaned up." …(steve, keeping his eyes on bucky, lowers his voice.)… "James, it's time to stand down. It is not the time for this." (steve)

(the lower voice and use of his given name jolts bucky. Steve never called him james. He straightens up, the world around him coming back as he realized what he had been about to do.)

"It's just so…" (bucky)

"I know, but it's alright." (steve)

"I've got to, I need…" (bucky) (bucky makes a motion towards the door knowing that steve would understand. His whole body was vibrating, he needed to see her for himself, to confirm what steve had said and make sure she was safe.)

"Go." (steve) (steve watched his friend go, wanting nothing more than to follow, but knowing he would have to wait. He was just thankful that everyone would just think that bucky's behavior had to do with the Soldier. It made it easier.)

"I could've handled it. You have to admit this has been coming a long time, should've just allowed us to get it out of our system." (nat)

(steve turns to nat, he had to clench his hands to keep from reaching out to her. He had been able to rein in the wolf in him for a long time, but with Ms. Lewis's arrival it was all coming to the forefront and he had to work extra hard not to lash out.)

"You are not to handle anything. I don't know what happened, and right now I don't really care. Just don't allow it to happen again." … "I mean it, Nat. Next time stand down." (steve) (steve starts for the door, ignoring the rest of his team as they watch on.)

"You can't protect Bucky forever. You have to allow him to live his life." (nat)

"It's not Bucky I'm protecting." …(steve turns around)… "You might think you know him, but believe me you don't. Just please, for me, stand down next time." (steve) (leaving his teammates silent, steve follows after bucky. He knew he probably shouldn't have said what he did, but nat really didn't know what she was getting into.)

* * *

Bucky worked to calm his breathing as he wound his way through the halls down to the labs. He wanted to run, wanted to follow the scent of the she-wolf, but he kept himself together. He remembered the first time he had caught the scent of a Faolan, he had only been six years old but the scent had still sent him into a tizzy…

 _Bucky had always been a bit of a charmer, even when he had just been a new pup. His mother always teased him that he would have his pick of she-wolves when the time for mating came. His father though, he had high hopes that his son would be picked by a Faolan female. It was this hope that brought their current guests to their house._

 _Standing behind his parents, Bucky peaked at the tall woman standing in the middle of the room. She seemed to tower above everyone, her eyes glowing amber in the low lighting. His mother had told him she was Faolan, sister to the king, and she had traveled far just to meet him._

 _"Come here, pup, let me see you." The woman crouched down as he approached, a soft smile on her face._

 _Bucky held himself still as the woman ran her along his cheek, her scent pouring into his lungs. She smelled sweet and spicy, like peaches and cloves. It made his mouth water and his head spin._

 _"Do you know who I am?" The woman continued to stroke his face, her fingers dipping back to run through his hair. It helped to still his vibrating body, to calm the dizziness in his head._

 _"Yes, you are a Faolan." Bucky felt his cheeks redden when he heard how shaky his voice was, but the woman didn't seem to notice and just smiled._

 _"That I am. My name is Maeve, what is your name?" Maeve never let up on the petting, her fingers moving slowly through his hair as she spoke in soft tones._

 _"James, uh, James Bucannon Barnes, Ma'am." Bucky could hardly think, all he wanted to do was curl up in this woman's lap and sleep. She felt safe and right._

 _"Ah, a strong name indeed." Maeve used the hand in his hair to tilt his head up, her amber eyes focused on his own. "You feel it don't you?"_

 _Bucky didn't even need her to explain what she had meant, it was obvious. That scent filling him, embedding itself into his lungs and his very body. He knew he would forever remember that scent, he would be able to taste it in his dreams until the day he died._

 _"Yes. Why does it do that?" Even though Bucky felt safe, the scent's effect on him made him nervous._

 _"Because I am Faolan and you are Cuan, my scent calls to you because our clans were made for each other." She offered no other explanation, just removed her hands from his hair and stood after a muffled cry sounded from the corner._

 _Bucky shook his head, trying to shake off that dizziness. His heart hammered in his chest when he realized what had drawn the woman's attention. Steve, Sarah Roger's young pup, slept curled up on a small pallet. His family often watched the sickly boy while Sarah worked, and Bucky had taken a liking to him. Steve might have been younger, and a runt, but there was something about him that made Bucky want to protect him._

 _Steve's cries became louder as he woke up from his nap, no doubt disturbed by all the talking. Bucky watched in horror as Maeve made straight for him. In his mind the woman would harm the pup, find him lacking and cast him out. It was because of this that Bucky darted across the room to place himself between her and Steve._

 _"I won't let you hurt him." Bucky stood his ground, as best he could in his short frame. Maeve didn't seem bothered by it, just gave that same soft smile and ran her fingers through his hair. Bucky was embarrassed to realize how he melted at the touch, moving to the side as the woman made the last few steps towards Steve._

 _"I have no intention of harming the pup. Runts might be small, but they have a place in our world just as everyone else." Maeve slipped her hand from Bucky's hair, and sat herself down on the floor by the pallet. She curled her arms around the crying child, pulling him into her lap._

 _The room was silent as Maeve rocked the four year old boy in her arms, one hand running through Steve's hair. Bucky watched on with wide eyes as Steve's painful cries silenced. No one, not even Sarah, had been able to quiet the boy when he woke in pain. Maeve had achieved what Bucky thought impossible, and he found himself grateful for it._

 _"See now, he's like you, he knows who I am." Maeve hummed quietly under her breath as she continued to rock Steve's tiny body._

 _Maeve remained with them for several hours, curled up on the floor with Steve in her arms and Bucky at her side. She paid them both attention, her fingers playing with the soft hair on their heads. Bucky's father had offered many times for her to sit on the chair, but each time she just smiled and told him she was where she needed to be._

 _It wasn't until a worn out Sarah had walked through the door that Maeve stood. Bucky stood with his back ramrod straight, not sure who he was planning to protect: Maeve or Sarah. Steve's mother could be very protective of her sickly son, practically attacking anyone that even looked at him the wrong way. It seemed as though Bucky had been worried about nothing though, as Sarah took a deep breath and seem to melt where she stood._

 _Everything from that point moved fast. Maeve handed over a quiet Steve to Sarah, and pressed a kiss to both his and Bucky's heads. She gathered her coat, slipped it over her shoulders and stepped out the door and out of his life._

Bucky shook himself out of his reverie as he slipped into a lab. The room was empty, but he knew she had been there. Her scent was the strongest here, it was thick like syrup and caused the same dizziness that Maeve's scent had.

He searched through the room franticly, trying to locate the source of the scent. It took him several minutes before he found a single sweater draped over the back of a chair. His fingers ran along the soft fabric before he gathered it up, pressing it to his nose. He couldn't help the quiet whimper when he took a deep breath: peaches and cloves.

"Bucky, I know this is hard, but we've got to try and rein it in before we hurt someone…." (steve) (steve enters the room and stops in his tracks when he notices his friend. He moves slowly until he is standing beside him, his hand reaching out to take a corner of the sweater and bringing it to his nose.)

"Her scent is so familiar." (steve)

"Maeve Faolan, she smells just like Maeve." (bucky)

"Why do I know that name?" (steve)

"She was the King's sister. We met her once, you were only four though. She sat with us on the floor until your mother got home." (bucky)

"Then if she smells like her…" (steve)

"Yeah, but how did she get here? The Lycus never would've taken the chance and allowed any of her family to live." (bucky)

"I wish I knew." (steve)

(They both bring the sweater back up to their noses when the door to the lab opens and Erik comes in. Erik looks at them funny, not really sure what is going on.)

"Uh, Captain, Barnes, what are you doing with Darcy's sweater?" (erik)

(Both bucky and steve remove the sweater from their noses, but neither one wants to let it go completely.)

"Just noticed that she forgot it, thought we would return it to her." … "Do you happen to know where she is?" (steve)

"Uh, yeah. Jane said that Agent Hill was taking them to their apartment. I guess the jetlag was catching up to them." (erik)

(both steve and bucky still, their hearts pounding as instinct told them to run, to find darcy.)

"Thank you, Dr. Selvig." (steve) (steve and bucky start heading for the door when erik clears his throat, making them turn around.)

"If you give me that sweater I can give it back to Darcy tomorrow." (erik)

"Actually, I'm headed out right now. I might as well stop by and give it to her now." (steve)

"You are going to go across the city just to give back a sweater?" (erik)

"Like I said, I was already going out. Plus, don't need Dr. Foster and Ms. Lewis thinking we are inconsiderate." … "If you'll excuse us." (steve)

"Uh, yeah, of course." (erik)

(steve and bucky give a nod to erik before turning and leaving, sweater in hand. Steve hadn't really lied, he was going out, but he hadn't elaborated on why. He knew Bucky would be the same as him, they would need to know that darcy was safe.)


End file.
